Current market carnage - anyone selling or buying?

gadgetmind

A_Flock_Of_Sheep wrote: »

Exactly. People assume it is gambling but it is a serious investment mechanism.

Maybe, but I'm very pleased to say that the house has still the edge.

A_Flock_Of_Sheep

By the time the few decades have passed Bowlhead where the long haul may pay off (and it may not - people here might find a negative number in decades to come) I will be too frail and rickety to enjoy it. what's the point of the long haul to create even more wealth for when I am pushing 90? I may not live that long. At 90 how will I enjoy it? Buy a new comfy recliner every week?

You would be surprised at the number of retired and near retired wrinklies there are actually dabbling in CFDs. There are pensioners share clubs around and some of us are even into modern technology like iphones.

A_Flock_Of_Sheep

bowlhead99 wrote: »

Yes, I bought IG at IPO as an existing satisfied customer at the time. Made a decent return on them over several years, and even opened an account with a rival spreadbet firm just so I could more easily add to my direct IGG position via further spreadbets because IG didn't make a market in their own price....

Although have been out of them for years and never got around to finding a reentry point. A good business and I never bothered keeping my accounts with the rivals open, while still use the IG one from time to time. Perhaps should now consider using IG to take a punt on Plus500 growing and moving to the main market after making their fortune from our resident ovine punter.

My shorter term leveraged trades on individual companies are largely behind me now though ; employer's compliance department needs to approve personal dealing transactions such that nothing can really be done in real time, making it more hassle than it's worth. So now it's generally funds, ITs, indexes, or other instruments for hedging purposes, and individual companies only get bought or sold on a longer term view when the timescales can easily accommodate the red tape.


The point of the long haul is that even at retirement age you might have a life expectancy of several decades. But if you have a short expected lifespan and stacks more cash than you can usefully use, you might as well throw it into the markets or a casino and have some fun with it rather than actually try to grow the wealth in a more "cumbersome" diversified fund.

If you've dutifully collected your debt free and mortgage free wannabe badges while on here for the last few years, but now cleared those off and suddenly find yourself with stacks more cash than you need or can spend and no need to conservatively preserve your capital, perhaps your wealth just came in a sudden lump from a windfall like a divorce or inheritance or redundancy or something?

Not my business to pry or speculate. I would just observe that a little old lady who is cash rich, excitable, doesn't plan on living very long, and discovers new types of financial instruments through iPhone app promotions... must be an absolute dream of a customer for CFD firms.

I guess there's always the tabloid interview money to fall back on, when the headline reads poor naive old lady taken in by CFD firm. Those scumbags and their regulator should have known she wasn't compos mentis and must now rebate her all the Glencore losses.

And with remarks like that perhaps you can see why I am in no way interested in discussing my investment habits on here.

I recall I challenged you to list your portfolio once so we can all have a gander at the investment wonder that is Bowlhead and check out all your gains and losses.

But of course you failed to rise to the challenge. If I had the inclination I'd look it out for you. I can't recall the excuse you contrived for declining to share with us all.

A_Flock_Of_Sheep

gadgetmind wrote: »

Maybe, but I'm very pleased to say that the house has still the edge.

I'm glad it does else it wouldn't happen.

tg99

A_Flock_Of_Sheep wrote: »

Exactly. People assume it is gambling but it is a serious investment mechanism.

It can simply cost more the longer you hold the CFD but it isn't for the long haul.

I think a lot of the people and naysayers call it gambling because they know little about it and use that terminology because that is what they have heard.

Plus 500 give a willing person money to try it out. Maybe IG group do the same. The investments open on plus500 are very broad.

It does not necessarily cost more either to hold long term for higher/additional rate taxpayers for certain investments, e.g. AstraZeneca where the rollover costs are more than offset by not paying tax on the dividend.

Dird

There are too many fund managers in the world. Regardless of the company you pick the whole continent seems to go up or down together if someone gets kidnapped on the other side of the world.
- 13 holdings
- 11 in decline Today
- same 11 with less than I invested
Japan & finance is all I can trust in, rest has gone to poop

bowlhead99

A_Flock_Of_Sheep wrote: »

I recall I challenged you to list your portfolio once so we can all have a gander at the investment wonder that is Bowlhead and check out all your gains and losses.

But of course you failed to rise to the challenge. If I had the inclination I'd look it out for you. I can't recall the excuse you contrived for declining to share with us all.

It's OK, the thread to which you refer is preserved in all its glory at
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/62006169#Comment_62006169

Others seemed quite understanding of why I was not going to provide a full portfolio list for you which is discussed from about post 15 onwards. Some of my earlier posts on that thread were also quite weighty and perhaps worth a read for some in the context of the whole thread; I stand by all comments made.

I see you have now completely changed your investment objectives from those which you articulated in that thread, as you take on the quite different challenge of becoming a CFD dabbler. No issue with that of course as your money is your own.

My earlier post here was not intended to imply that the wrinklies could not afford or learn to operate smartphones by the way; merely that if you are introduced to trading contract for differences via an iPhone app, your results and returns may not accord with those of someone who has taken the time to learn the theory and do their investment research from the ground up. As such, a CFD provider would probably love to have you.

A_Flock_Of_Sheep

I changed my investing objective some time ago dearest Bowlhead. But like I say there's no point talking about it here as it is not the long term mantra that's chanted here. Like I say this area could do with a CFD section.

Anyway we detract from the threads purpose which was a discussion on people's recent heavy portfolio losses not my CFD gains.

EdGasket

Nevertheless approx 95% of spread bet accounts make a loss and the remainder are either professionals with inside information or the few people at the end of the distribution who by chance, haven't yet lost. CFDs are very similar to spread bets, both leveraged and short-term with future-dated prices and hence are not investments but gambles where even if you have average luck and win half your bets, you will still pay two lots of spread on each win-lose combination and hence lose overall.

A_Flock_Of_Sheep

EdGasket wrote: »

Nevertheless approx 95% of spread bet accounts make a loss and the remainder are either professionals with inside information or the few people at the end of the distribution who by chance, haven't yet lost. CFDs are very similar to spread bets, both leveraged and short-term with future-dated prices and hence are not investments but gambles where even if you have average luck and win half your bets, you will still pay two lots of spread on each win-lose combination and hence lose overall.

It's worked alright for me for some while. Don't get me wrong I have had losses but overall it's has so far been a good experience. Plus you don't have to trade every day.

Where do you get the 95% stat from? If people lose overall then no one would do it